You aren’t my patient. You aren’t a diagnosis. You aren’t a case file. You’re the person I love. You’re the person I would do anything for. I’m not here to fix you, Jude. I’m not. And I never was. No one can single-handedly fix another person. We all hurdle through life, getting bumped and cracked and broken along the way, we are solely responsible for our own healing.”

“We honor of the human body. Respect it. But we take the mind for granted. We ignore the invisible illnesses that played countless people every single day.”

“We ignore their need for healing. We demand their absolute best when the most essential organ in their body isn’t working at its optimal capacity. We tell them that an ill brain does not grant them, grace or compassion. But, sir, I can attest to the torture that we inflict on people when we minimize the impact of a hurting mind.”

The amount of pages I have dog eared because of quotes that I found so powerful in this book would probably make you all cringe. But, @mazeyeddings has such a way with words. She is able to create a BEAUTIFUL story while also showing the depths of characters and the way they think, feel, and act, all while authentically showing those whose minds work differently than others.

This is a romance book, but it’s also so much more!

Quick hitters-
❤️‍🩹Emotional healing (moving on after being cheated on)
🩵Brother’s best friend
😡Enemies to lovers
🩺 Psychologist (FMC) Surgeon (MMC)
🧠 PTSD

Just go read it, okay?!

Oh and if you weren’t sure by now…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️.5/5

Also, thank you to @mazeyeddings and @netgalley for the advanced reader copy even though I drove 30 mins past my house to buy this at B&N because I HAD to have the physical copy lol

I am such a fan of Mazey Eddings! She writes the most delightful romcoms and does so with deft notes of inclusion, mental health, and truly relatable characters. I do love a fake dating trope, intelligent capable characters who have lives outside of work and romance (I love the family and friend characters who add depth to the story), and a satisfying journey to a happy ending.

What stands out to me in this book and the audio narration is the focus on a male character struggling with PTSD, a very real take on PTSD, stigma associated with it and likely with men struggling with mental health. but with wonderful support for this character from loved ones and friends as well. It is important to realize that men struggle with mental health and may experience less support for these needs. The narration from Joe Arden for Jude's character was effective in conveying his thoughts and fears. Imani Jade Powers was a win too, nicely voicing Indira and making her feel warm and relatable.

Thank you MacMillan for the audio copy and also St Martin's Press for the copy of the physical book ,read earlier this year!

I really appreciated that this story discussed mental health in such a positive and productive manner. It was always respectful in terms of their relationship, which developed from pseudo friends (by proxy, since their mutual relationship is her brother and his best friend) and even as they transitioned to a romantic relationship, she always supported him and respected his thoughts and feelings. He has gone through PTSD related to working in medical areas overseas in war torn areas and when he comes home from his best friend’s wedding, she starts to see just how much that time away has impacted him and left him feeling shattered and broken with panic attacks and overwhelming ptsd. She is moving on from a lackluster relationship (trigger warning: cheating) and is facing her issues with trust in men, originating long ago when her father walked out on their family.

These two unlikely characters end up staying in the same place for the duration of the lead up to the wedding and have to face their growing attraction for one another as well as the demons that are trying to catch up to them from their past. A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining romance with lots of heart!

Read this if you love:
🌸 brother’s best friend
🌸 forced proximity
🌸 roommates (forbidden) romance
🌸 healthy conversations about mental health, anxiety and ptsd

Content warnings: anxiety, ptsd, positive discussions related to therapy, therapy sessions, 3 open door scenes

One of the things I most appreciated about this story was how much the characters were set up for success because they developed healthy relationship habits and healthy communication skills throughout the book. They continued to practice listening to one another and respecting each other’s needs instead of projecting their own desires on the other person. I also really appreciated that mental health was discussed in a positive way without any discussions of self harm. I feel like the two often go hand in hand in books about anxiety/mental health and I find that to be too heavy to read about. This story had the meaningful and honest conversations about mental health without feeling too heavy and difficult to read.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the emotional depth and growth of the characters throughout the story and glad I gave this book a try! I enjoyed it much more than book two in the series. A great audiobook recording with dual narrators for the dual POVs. Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this story. All thoughts are my own.

I love how relatable this whole series was. This one covered PTSD, Anxiety, therapy, and overcoming life long thoughts. This one was beautiful. The two characters were able to lean on each other after years of not getting along. Both were suffering in different ways and both were able to help each other get the help they needed to move forward in life in a more positive way. I wasn’t clicking with this at first because of the romance I think, but reflecting on it now, I really do think it was a solid 4 star read. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

This was such a fast paced and hilarious little rom com. I started it around bed time and it became a book I stayed up to finish - unintentionally - it just happened.

It was all laughs, there were plenty of heavier subjects like mental health and doctors losing their patients and these heavy subjects were handled with the care that was needed. It felt “real” if you will. It felt like an actual person trying to deal with their issues while trying not to drown in them. I appreciate that, because at the very least I’ve been there and I’m sure we all have.

The humor really hooked me though. The budding romance was second fiddle to the hilarity that was the storyline for me. I needed all the laughs and this delivered.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook!

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
A Brush With Love series #3. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a stand-alone. 5e epilogue does wrap up all three relationships of the series.
Indira was the pesky little sister of Jude’s best friend and neither liked the other. When Indira walks in on her boyfriend being unfaithful, she moves in with her brother at the same time Jude is staying there as well. Wedding prep is keeping the circle of friends busy so Indira and Jude end up faking a relationship. Fake, real, who can say what goes on behind closed doors?

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version alternating with an Ebook. The narration was done by Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden. I like that the series was all different narrators so listening doesn’t get the stories and characters mixed up. The narrators compliment each other very well while each takes their gender POV. Both gave amazing performances on the stress of PTSD, the overwhelming sounds of everyday and, of course, the passion they eventually felt for each other. For me, the audio gave the characters life and a specific “look” that I don’t generally find with an ebook.
I listened to the audio at 1.5.

There are trigger warnings mentioned in the beginning of the book which was helpful to understand the depth of Jude’s detachment. I admired Indira for her support and stance to Jude. Yes, she had training but her words are heartfelt.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

Thank you to the publisher for an audio ARC of this book.

I appreciated in the beginning there was a content warning

This book was a delightful read. I will always be a sucker for a fake dating trope and then you add in brother's best friend?!?! What is not to love.

This book was great at dealing with some heavier issues that each main character was dealing with while also having some sweet and light hearted moments.
.

This was fantastic! I loved Indira and Jude. They have known each other since they were young children since Jude was Indira’s brother’s best friend. They are not huge fans of each other but with Indira’s brother getting married, they somehow find themselves living in the same house. After deciding to be each other’s dates for all of the wedding festivities, the fake situation starts to become very real.

Jude and Indira were wonderful characters. Both Jude and Indira had a lot of issues to deal with personally and I liked the way they supported each other. I thought that the story dealt with mental health and therapy in a very positive manner. I thought that they were really good for each other and the chemistry between them was palpable. I really enjoyed their journey towards a happily ever after.

I thought that Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I thought that they both did a wonderful job of bringing this cast of characters to life and I thought that their voices complimented each other very well. They added just the right amount of emotion to their reading and I am certain that their performance added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of contemporary romance. This book is the third book in the Brush with Love series but it reads perfectly fine as a stand-alone. I had a great time with this book and look forward to reading more of this author’s work soon.

I received a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St Martin’s Griffin.

When your brother’s friend who you were never a fan of, ends up as your “fake” wedding date. This book did such a good job of providing a feel good, light hearted romance, while also touching upon some sensitive topics such as PTSD and mental illness. The narration of this book added to the overall experience.

Mazey Eddings romances, yes please. This author brings swoon worthy characters, humor and spice. All the while bringing real life topics to the table that are addressed in a tasteful and respectful way.

The Plus One took me on an emotional roller coaster. Between laughs and a few tears I fell in love with this story. Indira and Jude were a perfect fit for each other. Plus, their banter was fantastic, it had me literally laughing out loud. Something about the childhood frenemies was so fun for me to read. I wish there would have had more peeks into the past.

I also really enjoyed both narrators, they truly helped bring these characters to life.

Overall, this was a great book and I would recommend it to romance lovers that don't mind open door scenes. ( I would actually recommend this whole series)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for my advanced listeners copy!

This book was beyond my expectations. This was all at once heartfelt, hilarious and profound. The mental health rep was next level. One minute I was giggling and swooning and the next I quite literally sobbing.

Just absolute perfection.

Content warnings:
Emotional trauma/baggage from growing up as a child of divorce, recovery from infidelity by past partner, PTSD from losing patients in emergencies as a medical provider.

Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden narrate Mazey Eddings’ The Plus One, A Brush with Love #3. Psychiatrist Indira and Doctor Jude are childhood enemies/frenemies who depend on each other and unexpectedly fall in love while being each other’s fake dates for Colin’s wedding—her brother and his best friend. Indira’s life looks perfect from the outside, looking in, with a boyfriend, an amazing job, etc. But it’s a façade that goes up in flames when she catches her boyfriend cheating. Jude’s life is so far from perfect, and he’s barely keeping it together. Traveling the world treating emergencies and humanitarian disasters as a doctor has left Jude’s state of mind and life in turmoil. The elaborate wedding events and being around so many people stress Jude out even more, and Indira’s forced to see her ex and his girlfriend more than is healthy. They become each other’s fake wedding dates to ease the strain and offer buffers. But fake displays of affection and forced proximity draw them closer together, enabling them to see different sides of each other shifting, deepening their relationship, and helping each other start the healing process. But what happens when they discover they can only rely on each other?

Narrators Powers and Arden bring Eddings’ beautifully written novel to life with expressive narration that perfectly fits and differentiates between the characters using pacing, intonation, and emotion to give the characters distinct voices that reveal their personalities, feelings, quirks, and states of mind. Both narrators brilliantly express their characters’ moods and emotional turmoil. Arden’s narration during the scenes when Jude experiences flashbacks or his PTSD interferes with his daily life is phenomenal. Likewise, Powers’ narration of her emotional trauma from her parent’s divorce is fantastic. Arden and Powers give life to every emotional beat within Eddings’ novel in such a way that I can’t imagine anyone else but them narrating The Plus One.

The novel’s tone ranges from humorous, intimate, angsty, intensely emotional, and sizzling hot, and the narrators deftly shift between these tones without affecting the novel’s excellent pacing. Additionally, during the novel’s intimate scenes, Arden and Indira use their full vocal ranges to express/portray the intimacy between characters and their chemistry, sensations, desire, and passion for each other While both narrators wonderfully capture Eddings’ emotional and romantic story and the narration between them is consistent, I love Powers’ narration for both Indira and Jude more. She even captures Arden’s slight lilt.

Mazey Eddings touched every part of my heart with her beautifully written novel The One Plus. I love her writing and characters so much! Eddings’ vivid description, natural-sounding and lively dialogue, and worldbuilding drew me in from the first scene. Her use of language, active writing style, beautiful writing, and fascinatingly complex, likable, and fallible characters kept me deeply engrossed. Once I started listening, it was hard to tear myself away. Eddings is tremendously gifted at exploring emotional pain and trauma and writing about it so vividly and viscerally that you’re in the moment with her characters. The Plus One could easily be an unrelenting angst fest. Instead, Eddings writes with a lovely balance of humor, steam, nostalgia, joy, hope, realism, angst, and love capturing life’s ups and downs in a realistic but enjoyable way for her readers without sacrificing the journey she’s taking her characters—and readers—on.

I love Jude and Indira’s relationship and how Eddings develops and evolves them from frenemies to lovers by weaving together funny and sweet events and moments from their past and present. They had both disliked each other from childhood and fought constantly, but there were also times when there was more to their relationship and interactions. Indira and Jude had been unconsciously falling in love all this time while bickering, picking on, and challenging each other, and, yes, even being there at just the right time when they needed the other most. Jude and Indira get each other in a way no one else does, allowing them to be honest, open, and vulnerable. To laugh, cry, and love together. I love that and how even when they become lovers, they’re still them with the same dynamic—give each other grief, make jokes at each other’s expense, etc. However, things can get hot and heavy in an instant. Eddings deftly writes emotional and sexy love scenes that reveal her characters and further her story and her character’s development and evolution. Indira and Jude’s love scenes are sweet, intimate, steamy, deeply emotional, and intensely sexy.

Eddings explores PTSD and recovering from the emotional baggage and trauma of parental divorce as a young child with nuance and care. She writes about therapy, emotional and mental health, and healing as a natural, vital, and regular part of her characters’ lives throughout the story in a logical way that makes it accessible and affirming.

The Plus One is a captivating, swoony, funny, steamy, sweet, sexy, poignant, and romantic enemies-to-lovers/frenemies-to-lovers novel that’s a definite keeper. It explores themes of family baggage and trauma from divorce, self-love, self-discovery, friendship, PTSD, therapy, emotional and mental health, healing and recovery, and the devastating impact of the humanitarian crises and crucial human needs unmet in this world.

Advanced review copy provided by Macmillan Audio for review.

Third time is the charm with this series! I really enjoyed following Indira and Jude on their journey together. Indira’s older brother is getting married and her cheating ex is in the wedding party. Jude is that brother’s best friend and he helps her out by pretending to be involved in a new relationship with her to avoid drama with the ex. Indira is a strong, self-actualized woman who knows what she wants and knows how to talk about it. Jude is coping with PTSD after traumatic experiences with a Doctors Without Borders type organization. They both need to make peace with their pasts to see if they have a future. I liked that they managed to handle it all with maturity and quite a few laughs along the way!
Kudos to both narrators for a for a great job!!
*Thanks to St Martin’s and NetGalley for this advance audio copy.

LOVED this book. I really enjoyed the real life, relatable struggles they went through. I thought this was the best book of the series. The vulnerability of both characters was perfect. It had just enough spice and drama without going overboard. I love a good enemies to lovers and this one did not disappoint. #NetGalley #ThePlusOne

Thank you for choosing me for this advanced listening copy. I have to admit I’m really picky when it comes to audiobooks but this one was so good. Both narrators were perfect for this book. The book itself was delightful. I found myself laughing out loud for a good chunk of the book. But the mental health aspect was really well done. I think we need to talk about mental illness in men more; we need to break the stigma. This book did a beautiful job addressing it and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that love wasn’t what “healed” him (I hate when this happens in books) and that both MCs do the work for their own wellbeing.
I didn’t really enjoy A Brush with Love and after this book I realized it wasn’t the author but the characters I didn’t connect with. This one though, I loved almost all of the characters. Jude’s relationship with Colin was almost as beautiful as his relationship with Indira.

Thank you to Netgalley, McMillan Audio and Mazey Eddings for allowing me to listen to an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book for an honest review.

Such a cute, quick read that I’d recommend to any hopeless romantic, {cough} I mean romance reader. 😊

Meet the characters:
Indira, a strong, feisty, independent woman, who knows what she wants, is in love, and has everything going for her until her world comes crashing down. She walks into her apartment to find her boyfriend cheating on her with another woman…and a freakish amount of peanut butter.

Jude, a doctor completing responsibilities abroad, who is seen by many as a hero but deep inside Jude feels lonely, selfish, and like he has nothing together. To top it all off, he lives in fear for when his PTSD may strike again.

Indira is forced to move in with her brother and his fiancé until she can find a place of her own. Jude, also finds himself sharing the same space when he comes to town to be in the wedding for his childhood best friend.

Tropes:
Frenemies to Lovers
Oblivious to Love
Fake Dating
Hometown Romance
Rivals
Childhood enemies to Adult Lovers
Best friend’s Sister

What I Liked:
💕 Sucks the reader in from the beginning.
💕 Honest, pure, and realistic.
💕 Strong and persistent female lead.
💕 Main male character with a wall up but deep inside has a desire for connection.
💕 When Indira and Jude both let their guards down to experience raw and true good old fashioned fun.
💕 Working through PTSD in a positive and healthy way.

4.8 rounded up
I absolutely loved this book

Childhood enemies to lovers
Spicy
Medial romance
Wedding romance
Mental health reps
Great character development
NO 3rd act break up!!!

I loved this series, but I have to say that The Plus One was my absolute favorite!

It's fast paced, witty and fun, with lots of spice! I seriously laughed out loud while reading.

It's a frenemies to lovers, brothers best friend, forced proximity, fake dating, romcom that gives you all the feels. I adored the connection, interaction, banter and tension between Indira and Jude. I read this in one day, I could not put it down.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Plus One is the third book in the A Brush with Love series and we get to hangout with characters from the other books as well. This one covered some difficult topics such as PTSD and abandonment but the author handles them with care. There were some lighter moments which made this a romantic comedy still. This might be my favorite book of the series so far. I liked the communication that the characters had with each other and the growth through out the book felt natural.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy to enjoy!

“Whatever this is between us is real and it hurts and its beautiful and it matters.”

Such an incredible read, everyone needs a Jude in their lives!! I love the author’s realistic approach to mental health while also having some fun light hearted scenes! This book was absolute perfection!

✨Read if you love✨
- Fake dating
- Slow burn
- Brothers best friend
- Childhood rivals
- Mental health representatives
- Only one tent
- Cheesecake Factory